Just knock it off!

(By Lisa Sarah John, Courtesy Bangalore Times, Dec 04, 2006)

There’s a miracle formula for weight reduction — it’s made up of three words — walk, water, and diet. But ensure you do all three together. The biggest cause for failure to lose weight is when people do one but not the others.

Those who enthusiastically work out and still eat everything might lose weight because of their heavy workout. Another group, on fruit-only diets, or boiled vegetables, cabbage soups, etc, might not exercise. They are too busy, or feel too weak to exercise. And finally 95 per cent of them don’t drink enough water. These groups might initially see some weight loss, but soon that will stop and they get frustrated.

There is only one way to lose weight — to walk 20-30 minutes daily, drink 2-3 litres of water and eat a balanced diet with plenty of fibre with no fatty food.
Walking is one of the best exercises as it uses 90 per cent of the body’s muscles at one time. It can be done by everyone. If you enjoy aerobics, swimming, jogging, you must do it continuously for 20-30 minutes. In a gym workout, ensure you are on the treadmill for about 20 minutes continuously. It is not enough to exercise only 3-4 times a week, 6-7 days a week is a must.

Don’t walk regularly and suddenly stop; this is the worst thing to do. A regular walker builds up a higher metabolic rate, burning more calories. A break in the walking routine causes the metabolic rate to go down again and it can take another couple of months to rise again. Do a shorter walk, if necessary, but don’t miss it.

Also, drink 2-3 litres of water daily. If you are dehydrated, your muscle movements are slow, so you burn less calories. Also, ketone is formed when fat breaks down which must be flushed out of the body, so water is essential. Finally, your diet: you must eat all three meals and every meal must be a balance of carbohydrates and proteins. Eat plenty of fibre which helps raise metabolism and burn fat.

                              * *  *  *  *  *  *